Keepers of Dreams
by anndoubleu
Summary: This is the sequel to the fanfiction Wish Upon A Star. The Mall Rats were forced to abandon their home at the end of Season 5, but not their hope. In this sequel to Wish Upon A Star, we follow the Mall Rats on their quest in keeping the dream alive as they adjust to new ways of life and work further to fix Mega's mistake and continue to rebuild a world void of the adult generation
1. Prologue

**The Dreamkeepers  
>Prologue<strong>

The forest is silent, almost too quiet. All he can hear is the babbling from the nearby brook and a few birds here and there. It pains him more than the blisters covering his body to know nature is also suffering from this disease. The animals seem immune to the sickness, but they've mostly all moved on, sensing the danger here. Not just the threat from the sickness, but the threat from the ruthless one they call Emile in The Badlands. That's what the city had become, what it had always been, The Badlands. But at least once there had been a dream kept alive there.

He stops walking, stopping at the tree in the middle of a clearing, it's vibrant, golden leaves evidence the Winter Solstice would be upon them soon. He needs the trunk for support as he reaches up to untie something from a branch. It's taken a lot of energy to even walk from his dwelling, even if it is just three minutes, and as he finally grabs his prize he nearly collapses to the ground.

He could've just had someone get it for him, but he's only just come to this decision. Besides he's already sent most of his tribe, the healthy ones away, to increase their chances at survival, only a few stubborn souls remain. One of them reminds him a bit of Pride. The child must have really been impacted by the man. Though, she wasn't a child any longer, he reminded himself. She was a young lady now, almost thirteen. How many solstices had passed since she'd joined? His mind could no longer do the math. 

"You should be lying down."

The voice startled him. He hadn't heard her coming. That made him proud, she'd learned well how to live here. But it was time for her to move on from nature, to find the Mall Rats. If there was any chance of surviving the second coming of this sickness, they'd have found the cure because they were the dreamers. They stopped at nothing to fight for their survival. It hasn't always ended well, he clutched the talisman in his hand closer to his heart, but there were always sacrifices to be had in life. He turns to face the young girl, having to look down to make eye contact. She had grown taller, yes, but he'd be surprised if she ever surpassed five feet.

"I came out here to retrieve this," he releases his fist his, letting the pendant drop and dangle by its tie for her to see. She gasps in recognition, already shaking her head no.

"You're giving up, aren't you?" tears pool in her big, brown eyes. "You have to fight!" She cries.

He smiles sadly at her, "It's the wheel of the world, the circle of time. If it is my time to give back to Gaia what she's given me then I won't fight it.

She wraps her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "I don't want you to die!"

"Remember what we taught you?" he hugs her back tightly, "You cannot hold back nature. You can only learn to flow with it. Sometimes it's the same with life." Everybody knew that everybody died.

"I do not fear death." He welcomed it. He'd seen enough in this life. But while it was the end for him, it was the beginning for her.

He lets her go, placing a light kiss atop her head. Pressing the talisman into her hand he peers into her eyes, his voice gentle, but firm.

"It's time little Mouse, you must find the Storm Crow."


	2. The Storm Crow

**Chapter 1: The Storm Crow**

Amber storms down the hallway. She's sure she's bumped into at least five people on her way, but she doesn't care. Trudy is hot on her trail, hoping to catch her before she says or does anything that would make her seem insane.

"Just wait!" Trudy puts a hand on her shoulder, finally catching up.

"Don't Trudy, just don't!" she shrugs her off. "They have no right, she has no right!"

She was speaking of Ellie. "This is not the work of a journalist!" she holds up the thick packet of paper. "I won't allow her to publish it!"

"This is not about Ellie's book and you know it. You're just directing your anger at her because you can't direct it at Bray."

She stops whirling around to face her friend. She hated that Trudy knew her so well because it was mostly the truth. "Did you read this? See what she wrote about you?" she deflects. "She wasn't even around for most of what she wrote; How should she know if I really loved Sasha or not?"

Trudy doesn't mean to, but she laughs. Sasha? This is what Amber was storming through the hallways for? "Now I know I'm right. You are just looking to take it out on someone because you can't take it out on Bray."

"No," Amber crosses her arms. "Okay, yes. He really has no right, telling me what I can and cannot do. "

"He's only wanting to stay close to his son."

"Yes but at the same time, it's also about Salene. Why am I making sacrifices for her?"

Trudy looks at her quizzical. "Okay, what's really going on? You can't really be that upset that he didn't want you to take a job with the Beta Unit."

Heaving a sigh uncrosses her arms, "We aren't Technos, Trude. We're Mall Rats. They've got a good system here, but it's not home."

It was true. They had an excellent system, like life had gone uninterrupted there when the adults perished. There was an identification system, currency, education, and a job for everyone. It was a dream to have so much order after the Mall Rats had spent years battling enemy after enemy. But it was all too, boring for Amber.

"You're mad because you chose to come here?"

"Not at all," she shakes her head, "I'm mad at myself for craving adventure. I'm mad at Trader because he's so content with working in the Market, I'm mad at Bray because he's…well Bray. And I'm mad at Ellie because she's turned our beginnings as a Tribe into a freaking Soap Opera!" She throws up her hands, with a defeated laugh. She must've looked absolutely ridiculous storming through the halls, running down people like she'd gone mad.

"You always were attracted to leading, even when you didn't want to. It's your calling. But we can't go back there. There isn't even a home anymore."

They had gotten word back from Jay just a few days ago that the mall had burned down. They had only been on Techno Island for two months and already their hope of ever returning to 'their' City was being squashed. Not only had the virus really taken a horrible course there but their home was gone.

"I don't know Trudy, I just…I feel like we abandoned all those people. The City, it calls to me. I may not be able to train with Beta Unit for their trip, but I've made up my mind. When the Alphas return, I'm leaving with the Betas."

Trudy opens her mouth then shuts it, then opens it again. She didn't understand why this was so important to Amber. It was Mega's doing that left their City the way it was, not the Mall Rats. They had done everything they could to stop him and when they failed they did what they could to survive. But obviously Amber felt a stronger calling.

"Why is it so important to you?"

"I…we fought so hard when we were there. I just…it needs to be fixed."

She couldn't go on proving Hawk right. She was not the Storm Crow.

_I am Eagle,_ She thinks to herself, _Strong and courageous._

She had a farsightedness. She was sure the Phoenix would rise again.

"Well alright," Trudy accepts her answer. She isn't entirely sure she likes the idea of Amber going on this journey, but it's obviously one that needs to be had. "Neither Trader nor Bray is going to like it, but I've got your back. Now, come on, let's throw this thing in the trash," she takes Ellie's manuscript from her friend, "And go have some breakfast before our shifts."

"Fine," Amber acquiesces returning the smile.

Together they walk back in the direction they had come, Trudy dropping the thick packet of Ellie's story in a nearby rubbish bin. They'd have to talk to Ellie later about making it more of a biography. But for now, Life called.


	3. Sometimes the End Is Just the Beginning

Jack had been on his way down to breakfast when he'd heard Amber coming, Trudy calling after her. Like the wimp that he was he'd fled, turning down a hallway leading to a fire escape exit. The brave thing to have done would have been to do an about-face, racing back to his girlfriend in their room and warn her the storm had begun. But hadn't he warned her? He thought, trying to justify his actions as he made his escape into the crisp, salty morning air. It was only yesterday that he and Ellie had argued over the way her story was shaping up.

"I thought you'd be a bit more supportive!" Ellie had cried as she lay across their bed on her stomach, her long, blond locks fanned out over her back shoulder to shoulder. His copy of her manuscript was splayed out before her, fanned out like her hair, as that's how it spread when he dropped it with distaste. "What's wrong with it?"

Jack though somewhat reluctant had simply said, "Everything." And if looks could kill, he would have vaporized before her eyes as those hazel orbs shot a beam of pure hatred his way. He was sweating then and tried to find a way to back pedal, "What I meant to say..." he stammered, that old lisp finding it's way into his speech, "Is that..."

"Well?" she snapped sitting up, her jaw setting in an angry fashion.

"It's good, it's just that...well it's not you. What happened to the journalism?"

The raising of her eyebrows let him know he'd dug himself deeper into a hole, but she had to know, right? He wondered then as he wonders now, passing the expansive floor to ceiling windows of the restaurant where the Mall Rats were gathering, if Ellie realized that what she had written was not journalistic in the least bit. She'd romanticized things that had nothing to do with the fabric of the story she really wanted to tell: the legend of the Mall Rats. It had become chick lit at best and wasn't the biographical tale everyone would be expecting.

"Ellie look, your heart is in the right place, but perhaps you should try a more participatory approach, you know? It should be more of a narrative...I think."

"Well thanks for your honest opinion. You think it sucks. Good to know I have such a supportive boyfriend!" She huffed. He could see the hurt in her eyes. He had opened his mouth to speak again, "Ellie, it's only constructive criticism..."

"Whatever!" she had interrupted, throwing up her hands. She scooped up the manuscript into a pile which she'd thrown into the waste basket before storming out of the room, presumably going to Alice's place down the hall.

And Jack hadn't chased after her either as he sat on their bed deflated. She hadn't even cared about his big news, that he had finished his training and would be getting a permanent position in the lab at an old college. He was headed there now, deciding not to face his angry tribe mates at breakfast. He knew Ellie wouldn't join them either. She'd take the elevator straight down to the fifth floor to the editorial offices where she could do what she loved best: write.

~0~

Techno Headquarters was located right on the South Eastern Coastline of Techno Island. The Technos were based out of a Grand Hotel with panoramic views of the waterfront on one side and mountain views on the other. There were all kinds of amenities: a huge indoor pool, a fitness facility, and various offices and executive suites which the Technos utilized in every way. In the two months that the Mall Rats had been there, they'd shared the upper half of this hotel.

It was just temporary until a nearby space, which was more communal for their tastes, was transformed into a safe enough environment for the children, a request from the mothers, mainly Trudy. It was only a block away from HQ and still in the heart of this thriving coast, surrounded by a thriving Market by day and boasting a fun nightlife for which Jack had yet to brave experience, though KC and Lex did make it sound like a good time.

"Good Morning Jack," someone passes to his right, "Hope Danni won't be seeing you at the hospital today."

It's Dragon, the flamed, faux hawked Commander of the Technos, with his exotic, ass-kicking girlfriend who throws her arm into his stomach swiftly, causing him to grimace. "Don't do that," she scolds the Techno in that accent Jack has yet to place of the Kraits. Still he isn't quite sure what they're on about. Why should he wind up at the hospital?

"What, I'm just joking..." Dragon holds up his hands apologetically, still smirking.

"Should I be worried?" Jack questions as the pair climb into the cab of a truck.

Éowyn smiles through the open window, "No, no you'll be fine. You and the girls will get along great."

And then they were gone, taking a turn away from him. He could still hear Dragon chuckling and he thought he'd heard him say something about an accident, but Jack's mind was still on the plural of 'girls'. Jack would be working with girls? It was a long time since he'd had to work with anyone. He'd never really had a partner in his workshop except for Dal. Working with women would be...interesting. It wasn't that he had any reservations about working with the opposite sex it would just be different. Then again everything about Techno Island was different.

Upon first docking Jack and the other Mall Rats were immediately quarantined, vaccinated, put through an identification process, given a form of compensation known only as 'credits' loaded onto an ID card embedded with a micro chip, and then they were shown to their hotel. In the following months they would all acquire jobs, it was the law. Everyone had to work, Technos and virts alike, and do their part to keep the island thriving. The only ones exempt from working were the kids who were required to attend school.

It was easy to find a job placement for them all, surprisingly though none had to go through training like Jack had for his position in the Laboratory. He felt like a real scientist now, not that he'd never felt like one. There was just something about being given a title and a job that helped his esteem.

As he walked through the market , ten minutes on foot from the hotel, he awaited the shuttle that would take him to his destination. He could've walked, but on foot that'd take nearly forty minutes, which seemed unnecessary when the work shuttle, even with frequent drop-offs could get you there in less than half of that time. Besides the distance, the weather was not as ideal for walking as it was two months before when they'd first docked at the Wharf. The temperature had dropped from those comfortable twenties to eleven and below with the Winter Solstice.

This morning the market was relatively quiet, except for the calls of birds overhead and the distant hum of trucks being started as Technos went off in their different directions to work. This was expected since it was mid-week. Typically the end of the week was the liveliest when the fresh produce was up for sale. Jack wishes they were out there today as his stomach growls angrily at him. He reaches inside his bag taking out the sandwich meant to be part of his lunch as he stares at a stall filled with abalone shell jewelry pieces.

He's just bitten into his tuna fish sandwich when a female voice prompts him to look beside him. It wasn't until she spoke that Jack noticed he wasn't alone.

"You!" Was all she said but it was said with distaste, her face revealing a sour frown. Jack looked her over, confused.

She was tall and slender with long, wavy brown hair. Though she wasn't wearing a uniform, her long legs were hugged by cosmic printed leggings paired with a short, black skirt and a top matching the leggings he could see was mid cropped through her opened wind breaker. She bore the evidentiary markings of a Techno with their insignia on her forehead, a headset, and the weapon at her wrist.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" he questioned her with somewhat of a defensive tone.

"No, but unfortunately Jack of the Mall Rats, we will be getting to know a lot of each other, so let's just get one thing straight, I'm in charge."

In that moment the shuttle appeared down the walkway and she turned, flipping her hair in his face as she made her way towards it. Puzzled, he followed, the smell of her hair, like fresh rain and strawberries, still lingering in his senses.

~0~

Seated on the shuttle staring out the window, Jack's brain was fixated on days long gone. Times in the mall when he was just an overconfident nerd with so many ideas that never came together quite right without the help of his friends, mainly Dal. Today was a day, minus the odd girl he could see in the reflection of the glass, staring daggers at him, he'd have liked to share with Dal.

They'd had some good times and bad times in the Mall, the two enthusiastic dorks. They'd fought over a girl, ideas, and accolades, but ultimately they could count on each other to make their home more efficient.

The same home that Jay had informed them, via a supply runner, was now half burned down. It pained Jack to know that the Mall was no longer liveable because not only had he and Dal done so much to improve it's living conditions, but part of him had always hoped they'd return there someday and it'd be just how they left it and all the things they'd left behind would be there waiting, standing still in time.

For Jack, without the promise of returning to the Mall some day in the future, he felt like a door had slammed shut in his face; like a chapter in the Mall Rats lives were over indefinitely. It was a devastating thought, but as he stepped off the shuttle that day and went into the Laboratory he'd only grow to realize that sometimes the end is just the beginning.


End file.
